– Does anyone know who Charles Whitman is?
—sir, he was the man who shot all the people in that tower in Austin, Texas!
– That's positive. Charles Whitman killed 12 people from the 28-storey observation tower at the University of Texas. Does anyone know who Lee Harvey Oswald is?
– Sil, he shot President Kennedy, Sir!
In this scene Full metal jacketSergeant has questioned his recruits about the perpetrators of infamous crimes in American history. With this exchange, Director Stanley Kubrick tells us: The murderer is remembered because of the importance of the murderer. Opposition came at Luigi Mangione, the murderer of the CEO of United Health Group, a major health insurance company.
Mangion, 26, is said to have shot New York health insurance executive Brian Thompson on December 4th. The incident shocked Americans. Insurance companies removed the executives' photos out of fear of copycats, and a wave of criticism against the healthcare industry continued. Thousands of people shared their experiences with insurance providers, reminiscing of people who could not afford treatment and who had died or had lasting harm.
Others praised the unknown shooter of the time, labeling him a vigilante or hero – transforming him into historian Eric Hobbsbohm, who described him in his essays Thief As “social bandits”: an individual who opposes an unfair system and is praised by ordinary people.
Five days later, police arrested Mangiona and social media exploded when his photo was leaked. In X, he had 60 followers before his arrest. His followers increased by 1,000 per minute until his account was suspended by over 500,000 people. Memes flooded the internet about his looks, academic records, background in wealthy family, musical preferences, and even sex life.
“Social Bandit” merged with the “hallo effect,” a cognitive bias that assigns positive traits based on physical appearance and first impressions – a tradition that stretches from Bonnie and Clyde to Charles Manson. The $150,000 collected for his legal defense, the graffiti that warns the prison not to send him more letters, and reads “Free Luigi” is all evidence of this. Mangion has become the Robinhood of pop culture.
Media coverage focused on understanding Mangion's motivations – from his serious back pain to possible issues with mental health. This empathetic attempt to explain his motivation was summarised by Dr. Joseph Richardson, a scholar of African American studies. Guardian As “the privilege of white men.” Numerous studies have shown that when offenders are white, offenders tend to be treated much more compassionately. As Richardson said, “We obviously know that if he was a young black man, the story would be different.”
Internet users also compared Mangion's treatment to other white shooters, including Patrick Crucius, who killed 23 people. Crucius has sentenced life in prison for the biggest massacres against the Mexican community, but Mangion faces the death penalty. Mangion was escorted like a “Gotham City villain,” but Crucius was said to be “a normal 20-something kid who would find his way.”
Is there anyone talking about Luigi if he wasn't white, rich or handsome, or if he wasn't killing the CEO?
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